Show us the money! Inter tell Man United to make their move over £35m target Sneijder

Massimo Moratti has turned up the heat on Manchester United by challenging them to back their interest in Wesley Sneijder with hard cash.

The Inter Milan president gave United fresh hope of landing their top midfield target by admitting he did not know whether he would be able to keep the 27-year old at the San Siro.

Target: Wesley Sneijder (left) could be on his way out of Inter Milan this summer

As attempts continue to try and find a compromise over Sneijder’s sky-high wages, it seems certain Inter are ready to accept any offers of around £35million for one of the stars of last summer’s World Cup finals.

But Moratti pointedly let it be known that he has yet to receive a single bid for the attacking Holland midfielder. The Inter chief also appeared to dismiss recent claims that Manchester City have proposed an exchange deal involving transfer-seeking striker Carlos Tevez.

Asked whether Sneijder would still be an Inter player at the start of next season, Moratti shrugged and said: ‘That is something I would like to know, but I don’t.

‘I hope he will stay, but when you look at the market at this moment, there are a lot of rumours, a lot of suggestions about him joining another club.

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'But I can tell you no-one from Manchester has made us an offer. In fact, we haven’t had an offer from any club. For all the stories, there is no sign of anyone placing any money on the table.’

Sportsmail revealed last week how United were pressing ahead with protracted discussions aimed at finding a way round the financial obstacle of Sneijder wages.

Such was then Inter coach Jose Mourinho’s determination to see off competition from Bayern Munich for Sneijder, when Real Madrid made him available in 2009, that he was awarded a contract presently worth a staggering £250,000 a week.

After almost losing Rooney last season, before finally securing his future on improved terms of around £220,000 a week, the last thing Ferguson needs is any further disruption for his prize asset over relative earnings.

Sportsmail understands that word of United’s interest in Sneijder reached his agent Soren Lerby nearly two months ago, and that both parties have since explored ways of bringing his weekly pay into line with Rooney’s without significantly affecting his overall income.

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The talks are believed to have centred on making up any shortfall through image rights, signing-on fees and commercial deals that could involve Nike, who are heavily involved with Sneijder and have been United’s kit suppliers for nearly a decade.

Though Sneijder has no grievances with Inter, he feels ready for his next challenge. After playing for Real in Spain and conquering Europe with Inter, he sees the Barclays Premier League as the logical next step, particularly with so many of his Holland team-mates already here.

There are also suggestions that Inter, for all their wealth, would welcome the chance to ease the burden on their wage bill, as well as pocket a substantial profit on the £12million they paid Real for him two years ago.

Discussions over personal terms have been described as complicated and have scarcely been helped by the disparity in tax rates that puts English clubs at a disadvantage when negotiating with many of their European counterparts.

Sneijder seems keen to complete the move for football reasons, though, and United remain optimistic those sporting ambitions will prevail over any financial difficulties and lead to him joining Ashley Young, Phil Jones and David de Gea in a new-look line-up.